


Checked Out

by Monte



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College, F/F, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2020-09-28 06:42:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20421626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monte/pseuds/Monte
Summary: Therese procrastinated on getting her required volunteer hours for graduation, so she's spending her last semester in college working in the library. She meets a certain professor who will end up changing her life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in Therese's perspective, and at the end of each chapter will be Carol's thoughts.

“Shit!” Therese yelled as she rolled off of the couch in her apartment, cursing even more once her phone falls with her, right on her face. 

“That’s one way to get up.” Dannie, her roommate and best friend, looked up from his textbook with a smirk on his face.

Therese looked at him and rolled her eyes. She picked up her phone to check the time, and luckily she had a few minutes before she had to report to the campus library for her shift. Like the smart student she was, she waited until her last semester of college to get her required volunteer hours for graduation. Checking the time once more, Therese grabbed her earbuds, jacket, and bag before leaving her apartment and lightly jogging to the Bobst Library.

After jogging down six blocks, Therese finally reached her destination. She entered the library, walking to the front desk where Mrs. Robichek, the main librarian, was impatiently waiting for her.

“You’re late, Ms. Belivet.” the old woman, who was the embodiment of a stereotypical librarian, scolded. “You know you have to be here at exactly 3:55 for the shift change. You only have two more times to be late before you’ll have to wait another semester to graduate!” Mrs. Robichek snatched her purse and stormed out of the building.

Therese looked down at her phone to see that it was 3:56, which meant that she had been on time. She knew that Mrs. Robichek hated her, and just about every art student at NYU. Therese simply rolled her eyes before sliding her bag under the desk. She popped in her earbuds and took the cart. Pushing the cart was the photographer’s favorite part of the job. It allowed her minimum interaction with other people, since she was an introvert, and the ability to listen to music undisturbed.

\---

Hours have passed and it was now almost the end of her shift. The library was open 24 hours, but Therese’s shift ended at 9:30. She spent the majority of her shift returning books to their homes on the numerous shelves, occasionally sneaking a few chips in her mouth every few minutes. At 9:28, when Therese knew that no one else was going to come in the library, she began to collect her things. While she was bent over, the door chime rang and she cursed under her breath. Placing an earbud in her left ear, she stood up. The brunette was not prepared to look at the person who stood on the opposite side of the counter.

“I’d like to return a few books, if you don’t mind.” The woman asked with a shy smile.

“Oh, um, yeah. Sure, you can.” Therese spluttered. Her emerald eyes met the beautiful stranger’s icy blue ones. Her blond hair was full of curls, no strand out of place. She wore a navy pantsuit with a white blouse underneath. The college student thought that she was staring directly at a goddess.  _ How have I never seen this insanely hot woman around campus before?  _ Therese snapped out of her daze when the woman cleared her throat. “Do you have a library card?”

The woman placed her purse on the counter and dug through its contents for a few seconds before pulling out a white card. “I don’t have a card, but I do have my ID.” She handed over the card and the brunette looked at it before swiping and returning it.  _ Dr. Carol Aird, PhD, Professor. She’s a PROFESSOR?  _

“Thank you.” Her voice was deep and raspy, and it made Therese shiver. Professor Aird slid the two books across the counter.

“ _ Junie B. Jones  _ and  _ Magic Tree House _ ? Those are interesting choices.” Therese observed and the blonde chuckled.

“They were for my daughter. She loves to read.” the professor happily explained, “Are you familiar with them?”

“I am. They were my favorite books when I was a kid. I also read  _ Diary of a Wimpy Kid _ .” Therese started to ramble, but she realized that the older woman didn’t notice, or she didn’t want to point it out.

“Is that so? I must check that out for her at some point. Thank you, Therese. It’s Therese, correct? Not Theresa?”

“It’s just plain ol’ Therese.”

“Therese isn’t at all a plain name, it’s quite unique and wonderful actually.”

The photography student started to blush. “Thank you.” 

In the brief moment of silence between the two women, Therese remembered that she still had one of her earbuds in when she heard the familiar tune of  _ Easy Living _ playing in her ear.

“Is that  _ Easy Living _ ?” the blonde asked, her red lips forming a smirk.

“Oh, yeah. It’s one of my favorite songs.” Therese mentally kicked herself for having the volume up too loud. She watched as the elegant woman in front of her looked at her phone screen and grimaced.

“I must get going. I’ve already been at work a lot longer than necessary. I love my students, but I do not love grading their ten page essays.” Professor Aird bid farewell before sauntering out of the library.

Therese quickly scanned the library before diverting her eyes back to the blonde goddess that walked out of the building. Carol Aird walked down the sidewalk to a shiny black Audi sedan. Everything about this woman fascinated Therese. The way she talked, the way she walked, the way her hair was styled, her outfit, her personality (from what she saw), everything. She knew she had to ask Dannie about her when she got home.

\---

“How was work, Ter?” Dannie asked as her took a paper plate with a Hot Pocket out of the microwave and handed to his roommate.

“It was...great, actually.” Her mind wandered back to Professor Aird. “Do you know of any professors with the last name Aird?”

Dannie sat on the couch and gestures for Therese to join him. “Yeah, which one?”

“The woman.”

“Oh yeah, Carol Aird. She was a good teacher, but she was a little too strict for my liking. I don’t go that way, but she’s quite attractive if I do say so myself. I had her for Creative Writing sophomore year.” Dannie recalled. 

“I met her when I was about to leave and I swear I almost melted right then and there.” Therese gushed.

“Oh my! Therese Marie Belivet has a massive schoolgirl crush on Professor Carol Aird!” Dannie teased, receiving a punch to his right shoulder from the brunette’s free hand.

“Leave me alone!” she snapped with a mouthful of her ham and cheese Hot Pocket.

“Hey, I don’t blame you for liking her. That woman is pretty freakin’ hot.”

Therese quickly finished her dinner and wished Dannie a goodnight before retiring to her room. She wasn’t planning on going to bed quite yet. The photographer laid on top of her comforter and opened the Google app. She typed in the name of the person who currently owned her heart. From the amount of search results, it looked like Professor Aird was a popular woman, and Therese was grateful for that because it meant that there had to be an endless amount of pictures. 

For the next hour, Therese scrolled through countless articles and Facebook accounts and watching a few of the professor’s interviews and panels on YouTube. _ Therese, what the hell are you doing? It’s already bad enough that you’re thirsting over a professor. Stalking her online isn’t making the situation any better!  _ She internally screamed to herself before turning her phone off and placing it on the charger. With the pictures she’s seen, Therese knew that for the seven hours she slept, all she would think about is Professor Carol Aird.

~~~

_ Therese, Therese, Therese. What an interesting person. A strange girl, flung out of space. Those emerald eyes of hers are mesmerizing, and I feel like I could get lost in them. I’m glad no one else was in the library during our interaction, or they would’ve noticed that I stared at the girl as if I was in love with her. Oh, shit. I think I am in love with her. This is bad, so so bad.  _

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!
> 
> I was going to make this longer and upload this in the new year, but I decided against it. I guess this is my gift to you, since I haven't updated in like four months.

Therese was counting down the minutes until the end of her Tuesday photography lecture. She truly admired Professor Gerhard, but her lectures were extremely boring. The clock struck 1pm and the professor shared her closing remarks. Today was the day that she announced the assignment that Therese and a few others in the class volunteered to do.

“Remember to start working on your portfolios because I’ll be checking the first four pages of it next Thursday.” she announced. “Also, if you volunteered to take pictures for the Washington Square, please stay back a few minutes so I can go over your assignments.”

A few scattered sighs filled the room and Therese chuckled to herself. She gathered her belongings and moved to the front row of the auditorium. Her classmates that stayed back joined her in the front while they waited for their professor to collect her notes.

“Okay, so first and foremost, I would like to thank all of you for volunteering. As you all know I’m the one always taking the pictures, but this time around I’m busy with grading your assignments and reviewing portfolios, and on top of that, I have my job with the Journal.” She paced around in front of her desk. “Rest assured, you will be rewarded for this, and I’m thinking that it might be a free pass from a paper.”

The students whooped and whistled for a few seconds before letting their teacher continue.

“The assignment is fairly easy, and I hope you all aren’t socially awkward,” Professor Gerhard disclosed. Therese cursed inwardly. “because you will each be doing a mini candid photoshoot and interview with each professor that received the ‘professor of the year’ award in their department. I posted the list, which is in alphabetical order, by the door so you can see it on the way out.”

She turned to the whiteboard to write her name followed by some numbers and letters.

“Here is my cell phone number and business email. Make sure you write them down somewhere. You will send me the pictures you take to this email address, because if you send it to my school email, I’ll never see it.”

She turned to write a series of letters and numbers on the board.

“Here is the Google Classroom code. I will post the full assignment and list of professors on there before I leave my office. If you have any questions, please email me. This is due by the end of the month, so good luck.”

With that, Professor Gerhard dismissed the group of students. Since Therese was already completely packed up, she hurried over to the list. It was in alphabetical order, so that meant that it would be easier to find her name. The brunette looked at the spreadsheet, and luckily she was the second person on the list. When she saw who she was assigned to, she nearly fainted.

_Holy shit! There is NO fucking way I’m interviewing her._

As if the universe both cursed her and answered her nonexistent prayer to see her more, Therese was set up to interview and photograph the Dr. Carol Aird, PhD.  
\------  
Once again, Therese found herself wandering down the numerous aisles of the NYU library. She frequently found herself doing so since college students in 2019 preferred to keep to themselves and use PDFs of books instead of getting physical copies. To be completely honest, it made her job a million times easier. After a while, she found herself in the children’s section. She browsed through the books, reminiscing on her childhood. Therese could see someone else enter the area in her peripheral, but didn’t turn to see who it was. She heard a soft chuckle come from the other person.

“I didn’t take you for someone who still reads Captain Underpants.” the husky voice joked.  
Blushing, Therese turned around to meet the professor’s icy blue eyes. “Oh, uh….”  
“Don’t fret, Therese. Occasionally I’ll steal one of my daughter’s books and read them to take a  
break from grading papers.”

The older woman stepped closer to her and took the book from the nervous photographer’s hands.

“So a little birdie emailed me saying that you’re the lucky college student that will be interviewing me.” Dr. Aird absentmindedly flipped through the pages of the  
Captain Underpants book.  
“Oh, that’s right. I am.” Therese stumbled over her words. “When would you like to meet up?”  
The blonde reached into the pocket of her blazer and pulled out a business card and a pen. She scribbled something on the back of it and handed it to Therese. “Most of the time I’m available during my office hours, since my students would rather ask Google for help on their assignments. I will not be available tomorrow, since I have to...take care of a few things.” Carol  
inwardly cursed herself for rambling. She held the book out for Therese to take.  
“Can I come on Thursday then? I have my percussion lecture at 11am, so I’ll be there around one.” Therese asked, taking the book and placing it back in its spot.  
“That’s perfect.” Dr. Aird replied with a small grin. “I didn’t take you for someone that’d be a musician, let alone a percussionist.”  
“I was in the band in high school, and I kinda dropped it once I got into college. I had a few free spots in my schedule so I decided to pick it up again.” Therese went on and was genuinely surprised that someone stayed around to listen to her talk about band.  
“Well, you oughta invite me ‘round to a recital then, darling.” the blonde winked at her. “See you  
on Thursday, Therese.”

With that, the esteemed Dr. Aird walked out of the children’s section. Therese watched the woman saunter down the next aisle, only to be caught staring a few moments later. Dr. Aird looked back and winked before finally leaving the library.

The brunette almost fainted but was luckily interrupted by a freshman asking for the internet code. When the student left, Therese made a beeline to the library’s office. She was grateful that someone elsewas working with her today, Jennifer? Or was it Genevieve? Therese couldn’t remember what  
her name was, but she was a nice girl and they shared a common feeling of resentment towards Mrs. Robichek.  
Finally safe in the small room, Therese pulled out her water bottle from her backpack and took a  
sip. When she moved the sticker covered bottle away from her face, she was met with the  
smirking face of her coworker.  
“You have a crush on her, don’t you Terry?” Genevieve asked, the smirk still present on her  
face. Therese opened her mouth to defend herself, but she was cut off. “Nevermind. Don’t even  
answer. I already know you do, judging by the look on your face when she left.”  
“Dammit Gen! Is it that obvious?” the photographer sighed.  
Genevieve laughed and nodded her head. “Yeah. I would be crushing on her too, but I already  
have the most amazing woman in the world as my girlfriend.” She stood in the doorway,  
presumably thinking about said woman before leaving the office. Gen threw over her shoulder,  
“If you give it a few more months, she’ll be yours.” before disappearing behind the countless  
bookshelves.  
_I hope she’s right about that_. Therese thought to herself before returning to the library’s front  
desk.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! It's been a while, but I'm still here. I hope all of you are healthy and staying inside.

Therese was outside Dr. Aird’s office at exactly 1pm. The door was open and the blonde waved her in. She was having what sounded like a serious conversation, but Dr. Aird did look up for a second to smile at the photographer before letting her face go back to its original expression. She wrapped up her phone call and took a deep breath. 

“Hello Therese.” Dr. Aird had a hint of a smile on her face. “I apologize for not greeting you properly when you first got here. I was on the phone with who was supposed to be my guest speaker for next week.”

“Oh, it’s alright Dr. Aird.”

The blonde tensed a little. “Oh, don’t call me that. It’s not even my name anymore, plus it makes me feel old. Just call me Carol.”

_ Oh my god I’m on a first name basis with her. Someone pinch me, I’m dreaming….hold up. It’s not her name anymore? Does that mean what I think it means? _

“Well then, Carol, uh, what would you like to start with? The pictures or the interview?” Therese asked, mentally cursing herself for letting her nerves take over.

“Christ, Abby didn’t mention any pictures.” Carol mumbled. “Let’s just start with the interview.”

Therese started asking the questions, and Carol answered them with incredibly thought-out answers.  _ This woman’s mind! Carol is so damn intelligent, she must read the dictionary _ . The photographer must have been caught up in her thoughts for a moment too long because Carol started to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Darling, are you still with me?” questioned Carol.

“Oh, um, yeah.” Therese blushed.

“What a strange girl you are…” the professor studied the college student’s face.

“Hmm?”

“...flung out of space.” Carol and Therese stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before the sound of voices filled the hallway outside the room.

“I guess I need to get going. The classes are starting up.” Therese gathered her belongings. “When will we meet again?”

Carol looked at the calendar on her computer screen and mentally went through her schedule. “I’m available on Tuesday after 11:30. I don’t have any afternoon classes, so maybe we can meet up and grab lunch?”   
  


“Sure, that would be great.” Therese replied. “I can get those candid pictures of you then as well.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, Therese.” Carol joked. She sat still for a minute before taking out another business card and scribbling something down on it. Carol handed the card to the young woman. “Do message me if anything comes up.”

_ HOLY SHIT SHE GAVE ME HER NUMBER!  _ “Yes! O-of course.” Therese headed for the door. “I’ll see you on Tuesday, then. Bye Carol.”

“Bye darling.” Carol winked at her.  _ God, I need to stop while I’m ahead. _

* * *

Therese practically ran back to her apartment. She needed to tell someone about her meeting with the famous professor, and she knew Dannie would  _ always _ be there to hear every word.

When she walked into the apartment, she was greeted with Dannie and Genevieve sitting on the floor, passing a textbook back and forth while frantically writing in their respective notebooks.

“Gen, what are you doing here?” Therese put her bag down in its usual spot.

“Oh shit, Dannie. I didn’t know you knew Terry.” the young woman gasped.

“Yeah, we’ve been besties since sophomore year in high school.” Dannie stood up to put his arm around his best friend’s shoulders. 

“Hey Dan, I need to talk to you.” Therese blushed at the thought of the subject of their next conversation. 

“Yeah sure.” the future screenwriter responded.

Gen looked at the exchange between the two, remembering what her coworker talked about the day before. “Hey! Wait a minute. I know what you’re going to talk about, judging by your face. It’s about HER!” she concluded.

Dannie gasped loudly, “OH MY GOD! PROFESSOR AIRD TEA? SPILL!”

Therese sighed deeply before recounting her entire meeting with Carol. 

“So, basically, you’re going out on a lunch date with Professor Aird?” Dannie asked with a huge grin.

“No, it’s just the two of us meeting up for lunch while I interview her for the paper. Therese downplayed the situation. “Celebrities sometimes meet with interviewers at restaurants and cafes, you know.” 

“Yeah, but judging by how you two looked at each other when she came to the library the other day, this is  _ definitely  _ a date.” Genevieve added. “Hell, she even gave you her PERSONAL phone number!”

“Fuck, I guess it is a lunch date then.” the photographer admitted.

“That means that we need to get you something to wear! We’ll hit up Fifth Avenue this weekend and get you a brand new outfit for your date!” Dannie squealed.

“Uh...no. I can just get something out of my clo-”

“NO!” both of Therese’s friends interjected.

“I swear all your clothes in there are either black or gray, like a damn television from the 1950s.” Dannie cringed.

“Yeah, I’ve worked at least forty shifts with you and all I’ve seen you wear is black.” Gen recalled. “Get something with some bright colors. I’m sure ol’ Carol would like her woman to have a little razzle dazzle.” She gestured with jazz hands.

“Ugh. Fine.” Therese acquiesced.

The brunette thought she was overthinking, but as she replayed the events of the day in her mind, she remembered Carol’s smile when she walked in and her intense gaze as she went through the interview questions.  _ I’m definitely overthinking this.  _ But she gave Therese her personal number and winked at her. Carol even seemed a little nervous when she asked her out to lunch.  _ I can already tell that I’m in for a wild ride, but I’d do anything for her. Shit, would I? Who am I kidding, yes I would. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to, follow me on Twitter @SirBeliviaird

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to, feel free to leave comments and follow me on Twitter @belivairdsson!


End file.
